Oh, Ho-oh
by RelleiDino
Summary: If her beloved pokémon had had eyelids and could talk, Marinette was sure she would have narrowed her large buggy eyes at her and said, "Wow, Mari, that's an awfully astute observation you made. Could you share with me your thought process?" Pokemon!AU
1. Not a Chance

A/N: I'd like to thank the poor people around me that had to listen to my headcannons till I finally wrote this.  
This is dedicated to my shitposting muse, Tim, and my partner in all things Miraculous, Val.

Chapter 1: Not a Chance

 _Why is this happening to me?_ Sprinting through the forest as her Ledian followed, Marinette cursed her clumsiness for approximately the twenty seventh time since she fell from a Combee infested tree. All she had wanted was a few Leppa berries, but no. Whatever higher power watching enjoyed seeing her losing her footing and fumbling for a perch on the branch. Plus, what do you know, shaking a tree wakes up its inhabitants, which happened to be a couple dozen Combees. _Don't they have anything better to do than chase me?!_

Apparently not, since they were still chasing her.

 _Oh thank Ho-oh, is that the exit?_ There seemed to be a clearing a few feet ahead, if the bright light in between the trees was anything to go by. "Tikki, we're almost out of this stupid Combee infested forest!" Marinette's Ledian buzzed in agreement as they ran out past the line of trees.

"Are you KIDDING me?"

Yeah, this was not the forest exit. This was a dead end. The bottom of a ledge in fact. A rather short ledge honestly. But she definitely couldn't climb a short ledge. Ledges weren't meant to be scaled anyway, no matter how seemingly short. Anyone with a working brain knew that. So yeah, no climbing this ledge. No way. Unlucky.

Marinette quickly surveyed her new surroundings, hoping to find a way to escape. Tikki buzzed protectively in between Marinette and the incoming group of irritated pokémon. Surrounded on all sides by rock and fast approaching angry pokémon, Marinette came to a stunning conclusion.

"Tikki, we're stuck."

If her beloved pokémon had had eyelids and could talk, Marinette was sure she would have narrowed her large buggy eyes at her and said, "Wow, Mari, that's an awfully astute observation you made. Could you share with me your thought process?" Thankfully, Tikki was a kind pokémon that had been with Marinette for years now and understood that her trainer was sometimes rather silly and stated the obvious, so she just buzzed in agreement and squared up her four little fists to protect her trainer.

When the Combees broke out of the forest, Marinette and Tikki were ready. They were NOT going to get their butts handed to them by some rag tag group of wild pokémon. No sir. The experience and expertise she gained from traveling around Johto didn't just magically reset because she was traveling a new region now. That didn't even make any sense, how could a top sixteen finalist from the Johto League's Silver Conference with her long time pokémon partner lose to some weak wild pokémon? Right?

Right?

She was jolted from her internal monologue by a voice that was definitely not a pokémon's.

"Looks like you could use a paw right meow, Purrincess."

 _Just Hyperbeam me now, Ho-oh._

Turning her head as slowly as possible to delay confirming her suspicions, Marinette's eye twitched when she saw the telltail black cat ear'd cap, green goggles and trademark Chat Noir grin. He stood on the edge of the ledge with his Purrloin resting languidly on his shoulders. "Aren't you purrleased to see me?"

Marinette rolled her eyes. At least the Combee stopped to stare at him too.

"Look, I don't know how you keep finding me in these situations," images flashed through her head as she recalled the GogoatGate incident and the Fletchling fiasco, "But I can handle myself." She grabbed a poké ball from her belt, ready to call out another pokémon to help. "You also really need to stop with your awful puns."

"Nonsense," Chat jumped down from the ledge, hand on his head to keep his hat from flying off, "As your loyal knight, it is my duty to provide assistance whenever you are in need, Princess."

He shook his Purrloin off his shoulders and grabbed a poké ball from his own belt. "Plus, my puns are the Combees knees."

"They don't even have knees, Chat!"

* * *

Finally free from the angry but dedicated Combees, Marinette and Chat rested on a large log they found. Glancing at the black and green clad boy as he pet his Purrloin, Marinette dug through her bag and pulled out a pouch full of Poké Block. Pouring a few out into her hand, she gave a brown one to Tikki to munch on.

"What's that, Princess?" Chat was pointing at the colorful cubes in her hand.

She offered him the handful of cubes and let him pick one out. "Never seen Poké Block before?"

"Don't believe so. Is it just pokémon food?" He picked up a green cube and examined it before offering it to his Purrloin. The Purrloin sniffed it cautiously before seemingly deeming it worthy and eating the block in a single bite. Chat looked surprised that his pokémon ate it. She felt faintly insulted. "Wow, these things must be really good if Plagg's eating it. He's usually a picky eater. What are these?"

 _Damn straight._ Smiling, Marinette offered Tikki another one before giving Chat a few green ones to give Plagg. "Poké Blocks are basically Poffins from Johto."

"From Johto? How'd you get these?"

"My parents send them to me every now and then. They own a Pâtisserie selling Poffins, Poke Puffs, Poke Block, you name it." Goodness, she was getting hungry too now that she thought about it. When was the last time she ate? _I've been stuck in this forest all day._ Realizing she wouldn't be getting any other food for a while, Marinette popped a brown cube into her own mouth. _Mmm. Tastes like chocolate._

"Did you just eat pokémon food?"

She turned to look at Chat as she swallowed the sweet. _Wow, he looks really worried_. Like she had just drank a cup of poison or something. She stared at the blocks in her hand. Well, it looked like the Poké Block that her parents sent her last week. She stared at Chat again. Huh, he still looked pretty worried. She wasn't really sure what was wrong though. Might as well be honest. "Yes…?"

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"No…?"

"What?" He looked even more alarmed now. Like she didn't understand basic concepts like pokémon type advantages or something. How rude, she knew her type advantages. _Just not for Fairy type. That's still processing._ "But trainers aren't supposed to eat their pokémon's food! Some ingredients aren't suitable for human consumption!"

Oh. _Oh._ That's what he meant. She laughed.

"Oh, don't worry. My family firmly believes that trainers should only feed their pokémon things that they themselves would be willing to eat. Everything we sell is suitable for pokémon and humans." Plus the brown ones tasted like chocolate. Maybe it'd be easier to show him? "Here, try a brown block, they're sweet."

Curious, Chat did as she asked and ate the brown block. His eyes lit up. Well, she thought they lit up. She couldn't really tell too well because of his goggles. But whatever.

"Your family makes these? That's ameowzing! It tastes like chocolate!" He popped another brown cube into his mouth.

Marinette sighed. "And here I thought we were finally going to have a pun-free conversation."

Chat winked at her. "Not a Chansey, Purrincess."

Wow.

"Aaaaaaaaand that's my cue to go." Putting everything away properly and recalling Tikki into her poké ball, she got up off the log and dusted off her pink shorts and black leggings before walking away.

"Aw, don't be like that, Princess!" Chat recalled Plagg as he followed her, falling into step beside her.

She was not going to sit in a forest all day listening to his puns. "I need to get out of this forest, Chat. I've been stuck here the whole day." At least she was on a path now. Chat had showed her where the path was after dealing with the Combees. "I wonder how much longer it is till the next town."

"Not much longer. I was there this morning."

Marinette stared at him. He stared back, arms resting behind his head. Neither stopped walking during this staring contest.

"If you were there this morning, what are you doing back in this forest?" Why would he subject himself to the terror and anguish of this forest again? He probably knew his way around it, but still. This forest was awful. Couldn't even pick berries safely. Absolutely terrible. 2/10. Would not recommend. - IGN

"Looking for you, actually."

What. Why would he be looking for her? Was he looking for someone to try new puns on? Did she forget something in the last town? Maybe he was trying to return it to her? Maybe he wanted to show her something? No, wait. He was stalking her, wasn't he? _Whoa, Marinette. That's quite a jump in logic there. Don't get ahead of yourself. There's definitely a plausible and reasonable answer to all this._ Marinette eyed him warily and finally asked, "Why were you looking for me?"

Chat gave her one of this trademark grins. "Wanna be my partner in a multi battle tournament?"


	2. Powerful

A/N: This chapter was brought to you today by the letter T. As in Tim's shitposts.  
It was also brought to you by my debilitating need for Adrinette.

Chapter 2: Powerful

Chat grinned as Mari signed her name next to his on the registration form. She had tentatively agreed yesterday so he was smiling like a fool as he watched her turn in the form.

He was so excited. _My first multi battle!_ He wondered how it would go. How different would it be from a regular battle? What pokémon would Marinette use? What kind of trainers would they be facing? He sighed happily. _So many new expurriences._ He was jolted from these thoughts when Marinette spoke.

"Alright, we're all signed up so we're good to compete. But I have things to do before this starts in two hours so I'll see you back here at noon, okay?" Marinette was looking at the time on her PokéGear, setting an alarm. "That will give us half an hour to prepare. Is that fine with you?"

Chat looked at his C-Gear and scrolled through his schedule, noting that a check-in deadline was coming up. He could get that out of the way before the tournament. He gave her a nod. "Yep. Sounds good."

Marinette gave him a nod before walking towards the shopping district. "Don't get into trouble, Chat!"

"I think I should be telling you that, Purrincess." Chat gave her a wink and a two fingered salute. He caught one last eye roll before she turned a corner and was out of his sight.

It was time to check in with Natalie. He headed towards the Pokémon Center so he could change into Adrien. After healing his pokémon, he walked into the changing room as Chat Noir and walked out as Adrien Agreste. He'd been doing this for a few weeks now, since the start of his very first pokémon adventure, and no one seemed to notice that rising star coordinator Adrien Agreste disappeared into the changing rooms and never came out. Or that he'd suddenly come out of the changing rooms without ever being seen in the center to begin with.

Whatever. He's not going to look a gift Horsea in the mouth.

Locating the phones at the other end of the Pokémon Center, he made his way over and dialed. After two rings, Natalie's face appeared on the video screen. She was looking at the tablet in her hand and only spared a brief glance up to confirm who she was talking to.

"Good afternoon, Adrien."

"Hello Natalie. I'm calling to check in. I've arrived in Santalune City." He also battled a couple dozen Combees in the forest, but she didn't need to know that.

"Alright. Your schedule was recently updated with a PR Video shoot in Lumoise City. Please familiarize yourself with the details."

"I understand. Is there anything else?"

"No. That is all."

"Thank you, Natalie. I'll check in when I get to the next city."

With a nod goodbye from Natalie, the call ended. Adrien checked the time. The call didn't even last a minute.

With nothing else to do, Adrien walked out of the pokémon center to check out the town. It was a traditional city, quaint, and unassuming. As he passed a beautiful Roselia statue fountain, he spotted Marinette through the window of the town boutique.

Without really thinking it through, he was already opening the door to the store and walking in. By the time he realized that he wasn't Chat Noir at the moment and that Adrien didn't know Marinette like Chat did, he was already standing next to her as she browsed through articles of clothing. Upon noticing someone beside her, she glanced over to see who it was. Adrien wasn't really sure what went through her head when she saw him, but her eyes widened as she jumped away from him, arms flailing. She started sputtering.

"Ah-wha. I- Hi, uh, didn't. Y-you, I-I see you. I mean, I DIDN'T see you. Yes." She stopped flailing but her eyes were still wide in panic, darting everywhere.

Wow. Smooth, Adrien. You ruined a perfectly good Marinette is what you did. Look at her. She's got anxiety.

 _I can fix this._ Adrien smiled at her. She gasped and stopped breathing, deathly still. His eyes widened. _What._ Did his smile kill people?

Maybe talking would help?

"Hey. It's been awhile." He tried to quickly recall if he, as Adrien, should know her name. He shouldn't. "I didn't catch your name last time. My name is Adrien."

She was silent for a second before exhaling quickly and gulping down a lungful of air to respond. She smiled awkwardly. "M-Marinette."

He nodded slowly, unsure if sudden moves would scare her at this point. _Why is she acting so oddly?_ "So what were you looking at?"

She turned her head sharply to the display beside them and then to the article in her hand. He's afraid her head is going to fall off at this point. Why is this turning out so badly? What did he do wrong? This is how you talk to people, no?

"Uh, I was, the shirt. I mean, looking at, this shirt." She loosened her intense grip on the shirt, offering it to him.

 _This is good. We're making progress._ He gently took the shirt, her hand shaking when his fingers brushed hers. He held the shirt out in front of him and looked back at Marinette, imagining the shirt on her. _Cute_. "I think it would look nice on you."

She seemed to have calmed down, if the fact that she was breathing properly was anything to go by. "Ah, I wasn't, going to buy it. I-I'm just looking. For ideas." She's wringing her hands now though.

Oops. She was busy and he interrupted her. "Oh, sorry for bothering you. I didn't-"

"No!"

Adrien jerked back from her sudden exclamation, dropping the shirt back onto the display. _What? Am I too close? Maybe she's really upset-_ His thoughts were interrupted when she started talking again.

"I mean, it's okay. I, uh, I'm glad to see you a-again." She's not looking at him anymore. Apparently the floor is super interesting? He glanced at the floor and saw nothing. He furrowed his eyebrows. _What?_ He looked back up and noticed her hands.

Wow, her fingers are going to break if she doesn't stop gripping and twisting them. _I'll save your fingers, Marinette._ Invigorated with a new purpose, he gently took her hands in his, separating them so she couldn't twister her fingers off. He smiled at her.

Marinette's face flushed and her eyes were blown wide open again. Shocked, Adrien's eyes widened too. _What did I do wrong now? Maybe I should leave before I mess up anymore._ She was clearly uncomfortable with him. Giving her hands a light squeeze, he let go. "I have to get going. I'll see you around, okay?" He gave her another smile before leaving.

Once he was a good distance away from the Boutique, he crouched down, head in his hands. _That was awful._ His princess is terrified of him. She's probably still upset that he tried to catch her pokémon in Vanville Town but was too kind to yell at him in the middle of the boutique. He had hoped that the explanation he gave when giving her a ride through the rain was enough for her forgiveness, but maybe it wasn't? How is he going to deal with his Princess hating him? Well, half of him? She's completely fine talking to him when he's Chat.

He took his hands off his head and looked forward.

*The traditional view of the city street… it filled him with DETERMINATION.

 _I'll get to know her better as Chat! Then I can figure out how to get to her to stop hating Adrien!_ He looked at his C-Gear to check the time. He has just enough time to eat, resupply at the PokéMart and change back into Chat Noir before meeting back with Marinette. He stood up, shaking his head to rid it of unwanted thoughts. He walked into a nearby Café. _One step at a time._

* * *

Making his way to their meeting spot, he saw Marinette already waiting. _She's here already?_ He checked his watch and saw that he was ten minutes early. _I hope she hasn't been waiting for too long._ Speeding up, he called out her name.

She jumped, as if struck by a thunderbolt, and faced him with wide eyes. _Wait, I changed right?_ He looked down and saw his usual Chat Noir outfit. Black and green jacket, black pants tucked into his black boots. His sight was tinted green so he had to be wearing his goggles. Affirming that he was indeed Chat Noir at the moment, he looked back up and saw that she had relaxed again, eyes resting properly in their sockets and breathing steadily.

She must have noticed his momentary confusion. "Sorry, Chat. You startled me. I thought you were someone else."

Oh. She must have thought it was Adrien calling to her. _This is my chance!_ "Oh? Do you have a friend in town?"

"No!"

Chat winced. Poor kitty. Hopes and dreams dashed with a just one word. _I guess that confirms it._

"I mean, well, yes? Maybe?" Her face was turning red again. _Is she getting a fever?_ She shook her head. "But that doesn't matter! Let's focus on the tournament! It's starting in half an hour."

He nodded, not pushing the subject any further. He'd take what he could get. _Friend is good, even if she's unsure_. "So what pokémon are you going to use? It has to be the same one through the whole tournament. I'll be using Plagg."

"I figured as much." She crossed her arms, her bright blue eyes narrowing as she thought. "Dark types are weak to fighting and bug types."

Chat grinned. "Don't forget about the Fairies, Princess."

She looked at him, not comprehending. "What?"

"Fairy types."

He watched as she caught on, dropping a fist into an open palm. "Oh. That's right."

He couldn't blame her. He still forgot about the new Fairy typing every now and then too. Honestly, he couldn't believe they just named it, 'Fairy' but eh, you take what you can get. Plus it was nice that Dragon types now had another weakness.

"Meh." She gave a small shrug of her shoulders before she was silent again. Finally, she spoke up, seemingly coming to a decision. "I'll use Tikki. Her dual Bug/Flying typing will be useful since it covers most of Plagg's type weaknesses."

He nodded as he called Plagg out from his Poke ball. The grumpy cat pokémon opened an eye to look at him before going back to sleep. "Sounds good, Princess. We'll be so pawerful."

"Chat!"

He laughed as he scooped up his Purrloin and hightailed it to the field where the battles would take place.


	3. Right off the Bat

A/N: Today's chapter is dedicated to fufflepie's hilarious memetastic story on Ao3 called "Marinette, the Teenage (Sassy) Witch." If you have not read that already, please do so. Breadinette is amazing.

Thank you, Tim, for sending me shitposts till I had to write this chapter to heal myself. Thank you everyone for reading, kudo-ing and commenting.

Chapter 3: Right of the Bat

Marinette and Chat walked into the trainer area at their end of the field. Their opponents were already waiting, holding hands as they talked. They were two girls, a short blonde decked out in pink and a tall brunette with purple highlights geared up in purple and black.

This was the tournament's final battle. It would determine Santalune's top Multi Battle team and who got to take home the bread basket. If there was one thing Marinette wanted out of this tournament, it was that bread basket. She sweat a bit, her intense lust for bread and her usual nerves combining into a really weird amalgamation of feelings in her tummy. Wow, had it really been that long since she participated in a tournament finale? She could have sworn she'd gotten over her battling nerves already. _Calm down, you've done this before_. _And you'll get the bread._

The small blonde across the field waved to them. Chat waved back, excited to have gotten this far.

"Don't stress, Princess!" He chuckled at his rhyme. "There's no pressure to win. We're here to have fun!"

He was right. _It's not like my life depends on getting that bread_. Marinette took a deep breath and looked at their opponents again. The blonde gently tugged the brunette down to a manageable height so that she could give her a chaste kiss on the cheek. The taller girl smiled at her partner before returning the gesture.

"Aww. Princess, why can't we be like that?" Chat grinned at her.

Marinette's eyes narrowed at him in response. This cat boy was too flirty for his own good. Before she could shoot him down, the referee started talking.

"The final battle of Santalune City's Annual Multi Battle Tournament between Young Couple Rose and Juleka and Ace Duo Chat Noir and Marinette will now be underway. Each trainer may use one pokémon. No items are allowed. The winner is decided when either team's pokémon are both unable to continue battling. Battle begin!"

Still hand in hand, Rose and Juleka called out their pokémon, poké balls flying on to the field.

"Go Roselia!"

"Go Misdreavus!"

Marinette gave him a pointed look as she called out her pokémon, daring him to flirt while they were in a battle. Chat gave her a cheeky smile in response as he motioned for Plagg to run onto the field.

"Go Tikki!"

"Claws out, Plagg!"

Claws out. Really? _This silly cat boy was-_ Marinette shook her head furiously. _Focus on the battle!_

Chat acted first. "Plagg, scare them with a Dark Pulse!"

Plagg ran straight for Roselia, who responded by crossing her stems in front of her, bracing herself for the attack. But the attack never came. Suddenly, Plagg appeared in front of Misdreavus. Before the ghost type could react, a pulse of dark energy rammed into it, knocking it to the floor. Juleka called for her pokémon, but it only flinched in response.

Chat beamed, obviously proud of his pokémon. "How's that, Princess? A super effective direct hit right off the cat."

Marinette's eyed twitched. _Ho-oh, please save me from this torture._

Rose called a move out to her Roselia who immediately responded by releasing a pink mist from her roses. The mist spread quickly.

Marinette wracked her brain for what that move could be. _Oh, it's Sweet Scent!_ "Tikki, use agility and fly above it! Don't breathe it in!"

Tikki sped up and flew above the mist, safe from the debilitating mist.

"Plagg, get out of there!" Unfortunately, Plagg wasn't as lucky. Unable to fly, he was enveloped in the mist. His eyes dilated as he breathed it in.

Chat's concern was evident. "Plagg, get a hold of yourself!"

His Purrloin gave a delayed wave of its tail in response, its reaction time slowed. Dodging attacks would be a challenge now.

But Rose didn't let up. Taking advantage of Plagg's lowered evasion rate, she directed Roselia to throw a green dust over Plagg.

Recognizing the green dust as sleep powder, Marinette tried to prevent the status effect. "Safeguard, Tikki!"

Tikki waved her four gloved hands, conjuring two opaque orbs to surround her and Plagg, but the powder had already done its job. Plagg was now fast asleep, sprawled out haphazardly on the field. Marinette cursed silently but didn't linger on it. _It's fine. At least Tikki's protected from any status effects now._

Juleka, wanting to capitalize on Plagg's snoozing, called for Misdreavus to use Hex.

Misdreavus' eyes glowed purple as like-colored wisps surrounded Plagg's sleeping form. A dark purple aura covered Plagg and the pokémon cried out in its sleep. As the ghost pokémon's eyes ceased their glowing, the wisps and aura disappeared as well. Hex was a move that did double damage if the target had a status ailment. Luckily, it was ghost type and therefore not very effective on Plagg. Marinette was catching on to Rose and Juleka's battle strategy. _I need to boost our special defense._

"No! Plagg, wake up!" Unable to use any items, Chat could only hope for Plagg to wake up on his own. He shot Marinette a worried look. "Got any plans, Princess?"

Marinette nodded. "I'm working on it."

Rose motioned for Roselia to use sleeping powder again, but now on Tikki. Roselia gave a twirl before throwing the powder from its blue rose at the target. But before it could make contact, it hit the Safeguard surrounding and dissolved into nothing. Rose looked shocked. Marinette smirked. _Perfect. She didn't know how Safeguard worked._

"Tikki, lets buff up our team's Special Defense! Use Light Screen!"

Tikki once again moved her four little hands to conjure the screen. True to its name, a screen of light appeared before her and Plagg.

 _Good, now we'll be able to withstand a few more hits than usual_. Marinette looked apprehensively at Plagg as it continued to sleep. "I hope Plagg wakes up soon, our defenses won't last forever."

Chat nodded in understanding, eyes shining with the confidence he had in his pokémon. "I believe in Plagg. He'll wake up soon, I'm sure!"

Marinette nodded back, trusting Chat and his bond Plagg. Safeguard and Light Screen were moves that only lasted for five turns before fading. Plagg needed to wake up soon and dish out damage on Misdreavus since Tikki didn't have any moves that were strong against the dual Ghost Dark type. _His dark type moves are a crucial part in our offensive power._

Continuing to take advantage of Plagg's slumber, Juleka signaled Misdreavus for another Hex attack. The wisps surrounded Plagg once again but half of them dissipated as they collided with the light screen in front of Plagg. The damage was halved.

Rose, realizing that special attacks weren't going to cut it, instead opted for a physical attack. Her Roselia started twirling again, but with each complete rotation, she shot out a bundle of poisoned thorns at Tikki.

Marinette reacted quickly to the Poison Sting, "Dodge as many as you can, Tikki!"

Tikki's wings buzzed louder as she whizzed about trying to avoid the attacks. Despite her increased speed from Agility, she could only avoid one of the five shots. Marinette worried her lip, thinking about her next move. _Roselia's accuracy is nothing to scoff at._ Her eyes darted to Misdreavus. She needed to go on the offensive. What was the saying? A good defense is a good offense?

"Tikki, scare them with Aerial Ace!"

Shaking off the thorns, Tikki flew towards Roselia, speeding up before suddenly tilting skywards and disappearing.

Roselia looked all around, unsure of where the opponent would be attacking from. Out of nowhere, Tikki swooped down behind Misdreavus and slammed into her, wind billowing furiously around them. Juleka gasped as Misdreavus was knocked to the ground. Misdreavus cried weakly as the ghost type struggled to get up, only able to do so at her trainer's encouraging words.

"Yes! Let's go, Plagg!" Chat cheered as Plagg woke up. The pokémon stretched, back arching and tail swishing around. He stood up on his hind legs to yawn and blink the sleep out of his eyes. He glanced back at his trainer, waiting for a command.

Chat grinned. "Misdreavus is really weak right now. Think you can finish her off with Purrrsuit?"

Marinette groaned while Plagg dashed towards Misdreavus. Juleka cried for her pokémon to dodge but Plagg was unrelenting as he pursued the ghost. He pounced, claws emitting a dark aura as they sunk into the pokémon. It was super effective. Misdreavus cried pitifully as she tried to shake off Plagg with the last of its strength. As the ghost started to falter, Plagg released his grip and jumped away.

Misdreavus fell limply to the ground, eyes swirling.

The referee raised his arm towards Rose and Juleka. "Misdreavus is unable to battle!"

Rose hugged Juleka as the Goth girl recalled her Misdreavus into her poké ball for some well-deserved rest. Juleka kissed the poké ball before kissing Rose on the crown on her head and nuzzling her hair.

Chat was radiating excitement and pride for his pokémon. "That was amazing, Plagg! I guess that cat nap really helped, eh?"

Plagg smirked as he lazily swung his tail.

Well, Marinette couldn't deny it. Plagg was really strong despite his small size. _They ARE known for being deceptively cute and harmless._

Rose didn't give up, calling for another Poison Sting, this time aimed at Plagg. Without any prompting, Plagg dashed around the field. Despite Sweet Scent's lingering effect, he was still able to dodge two of the five shots. Plopping down onto the field, he started grooming himself, slowly picking the thorns out of his fur.

"Plagg! Don't groom yourself in the middle of a battle!"

These cats would drive her crazy if they didn't win soon. She recalled the battle so far. _Safe Guard fades after one more turn, Light Screen in two. I have type advantage with Aerial Ace so we should be able to end this within the next two turns._

"Tikki, the battle's starting to wind down but don't relax yet. Use Aerial Ace!"

Going through familiar motions, Tikki disappeared and reappeared behind Roselia, knocking her to the ground while dealing double the damage with her super effective attack.

Chat was quick to follow up. "While she's down, use Assurance!"

Marinette's face lit up in recognition. Assurance was a dark type move that did double damage if the target had already taken damage that turn. It was rarely used in single battles since you couldn't bring out the move's full potential without another source of damage on the field. _I didn't realize he had these tricks up his sleeve. Between Tikki's super effective attack and this attack, I think we have enough damage to knock out Roselia by the end of this turn._

Plagg darted across the field and jumped at the pokémon lying on the ground, a single paw outstretched. He brought the paw down on Roselia's head, as if giving her a pat of reassurance. Could it still be considered a pat if it contained enough dark energy to split a boulder? Roselia cried out as the dark energy of the move hit her. Plagg jumped back to his place, revealing a swirly eyed Roselia.

The referee raised his arm towards Rose and Juleka. "Roselia is unable to battle. Ace Duo Chat Noir and Marinette are the winners of Santalune's Annual Multi Battle Tournament!"

There was a flurry of movement and noise from the Ace Duo, as they both cheered in happiness. Marinette ran to Tikki, hugging her Ledian as Chat ran to Plagg to scoop him up and spin in circles. Calming down, Marinette looked over to Chat, who was smiling and dancing with his Purrloin in unbridled joy. Marinette smiled at the sight.

She walked over to him, calling his name as she brought her hand up for a fist bump.

Chat immediately looked at her, smile never leaving his face. Understanding flittered across his face and he brought his own fist up to complete the gesture.

He winked at her. "We make a good team, Princess."

Marinette giggled, her eyes sparkling. "I would say our teamwork is rather miraculous, Chat."


	4. I Don't Know

A/N: I would like to dedicate this chapter to Ferisae! You can find her on Ao3 and Tumblr under that name. She does amazing writing, gorgeous artwork and adorable comics! Her Miraculous Ladybug comics are so fluffy and heartwarming that you could probably thaw a steak on your chest in less than 5 minutes after reading them. Please check her out!

Thanks again to Tim and Val for editing and beta-ing!

Chapter 4: I Don't Know

Chat bit into his last piece of bread, slowly finishing it. Marinette sat next to him, snacking on her own loaf. They were sitting on the fountain in the middle of the city, relaxing after all the emotions they experienced from #winning.

"Y'know, Princess," said Chat as he watched with a mix of fascination and terror while the blue-haired girl ravaged her bread, "it was a great idea to have signal words. Scare is such an inconspicuous word, too." He watched as she continued to stuff herself, sparing him a glance and a quick nod to let him know she was paying attention. She was starting to resemble a hamster with the way she was stuffing bread into her mouth. _That is... oddly adorable?_

Chat smiled as his thoughts drifted back to their win. "This is the first tournament I've won. First Multi battle...

First journey..."

"Wait, this is your first journey? But you look around my age."

Roused from his thoughts, Chat saw that Marinette had finished her bread and was watching him curiously while kicking her legs back and forth against the fountain. _She's cute._ Chat turned away quickly, focusing instead on the ground in front of him. "Well, yeah. This is my first pokémon journey. I... never really had the chance to do something like this."

He thought back to his tenth birthday. When other children were given the chance to explore the world, he was given another tutor to teach him about the judging criteria in Pokémon Contests. When he turned eleven, he was given a Froslass, specially bred and trained from birth to be a pokémon worthy of use by an Agreste. He'd been excited at first, but soon realized that whatever training the pokémon went through had done a number on it. Froslass had become as cold as the relationship he had with his father, and was as empty as his home. If he hadn't had Plagg he was sure his own heart would have frozen over. At twelve he received a Dragonair, but only after he told Natalie he didn't want the Weavile they presented him, claiming it wasn't strategically smart to have a team that consisted of only ice types. But the truth was that he couldn't handle another icy reminder of his father's cold demeanor.

Once he had his two contest pokémon, the training and tutoring grew exponentially and never ceased. Every single aspect and minutiae of contest battling was drilled into him and his pokémon. Only focus on one contest condition. Certain accessories highlight different conditions. Always be aware of what you put on your pokémon. How you present yourself is just as important as how your present you pokémon. And so on. And so forth. Before he opened a fashion line for coordinators and pokémon alike, his father was a renowned coordinator top himself, the bars were set high for Adrien Agreste. Set and locked, with him inside.

That's why when Natalie informed him on his sixteenth birthday that he would be setting out on pokémon journey to compete in the Grand Festival, he asked if she was ill.

Only hours later, when he was standing in Vaniville Town, did he realize she wasn't sick.

But before he could sink any further into his past depression, he was roused by his Princess's voice.

"Sorry for asking, it's none of my business." She must have realized he was uncomfortable talking about the subject.

Giving her a small smile, he changed the subject. "Don't worry about it. What about you? You must have had tons of adventures by now."

Marinette scratched at her cheek, blushing a bit. "Well, this is actually only my second journey. I left home late too. To tell the truth… I was scared to leave."

"Wow, I never would have guessed." Chat grinned at her. "So where was your first journey?"

"Oh, Johto, my home region." She started twirling a finger around a pigtail as a wave of nostalgia washed over her face. "I started out with just Tikki. We had so many fun moments and close calls catching and building our team and battling other trainers. It was tough, but we got through everything Johto threw at us. I competed in the Silver Conference too, but I lost my second match... Top 16 isn't much, but I can definitely say I learned a lot."

Chat stared at her in awe. Top 16? That was great! Some trainers dreamed of even qualifying! "Princess! Getting into the Conference is a feat of its own! You had to beat all of Johto's gyms! You should be _proud_ you placed top 16!"

Marinette blushed at Chat's candidness praise. "W-well, do you plan on competing in the Kalos Conference? I'm sure you could make it in."

Him? Competing in the Kalos Conference? He would do anything to compete. He would even don a leather cat suit and fling himself around a country's capital city to fight people's misguided emotions. _Wow, that was oddly specific._ But his enthusiasm quickly drained as he remembered his father's opinion on the Kalos Conference. Namely that it was an unrefined mess of pokémon and a waste of resources. He sighed. "My father would never let me."

"So? Your father isn't the one going on this journey."

Chat stared, baffled. Was she suggesting he go behind his father's back? "But he'll find out when I register for the gym battles!"

Marinette's hands came up to muffle her giggling, eyes full of mirth. "Woooooow, this really IS your first journey. Let me tell you a secret. You don't need to register anything to challenge a gym leader. Just walk in and request a battle. They'll usually battle you right away but if they're busy, they'll schedule a time for you to come back."

Chat's eyes widened. _I can challenge gym leaders without my father finding out_ _? I... can challenge gym leaders without my father finding out!_ A whole new world of experiences were waiting for him now.

It was the surprise on Chat's face that did her in. Marinette broke out laughing, hands unable to muffle anything. Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down, she turned body and pointed to a large building behind her. "You know, there's a gym in this city. Why don't you try that one first?"

Suddenly energized, he craned his neck to look at the building, taking it in. It had tall arched windows and a moss green roof. He could challenge that gym right now! He stopped himself. _Actually, it's getting a little late. Maybe I should go tomorrow morning._

Turning back to face Marinette, he wondered if she would challenge the gym too. "What about you?"

She shook her head. "I'm not aiming for the Conference this time. I came to Kalos to try something different. I want to compete in Grand Festival."

Oh. That meant... She'd be competing in contest battles! And he was going to be competing too as Adrien! Those would be his chances to make good with Marinette and impress her! But wow, from Silver Conference Top 16 to Contest battling? _Seems like a pretty big jump._ "Really? Any reason why?"

"I saw a spread about Gabriel Agreste in Johto." Her eyes lit up and her hands were clasped together in front of her chest. "His ability as a coordinator was amazing. I felt inspired just looking at the pictures of his contest battles! Plus, he's now designing clothes and accessories for Trainers and their pokémon. I mean, I make my own clothes, but I can only hope to be as good as him!" Her voice practically dripped with admiration.

No matter what Adrien thought about his father, he could never deny that he was good at his craft. Plus, this was a good spring board for him to bring himself up. "Doesn't he have a son? Adrien, right?"

Marinette's eyes bulged as she suddenly started choking. Panicking at her sudden choking fit, he started whacking her back in hopes of helping her clear her airways.

"S-stop!"

His hand froze an inch from her back.

Her eyes were watery and she was still coughing, but at least she could breathe again.

He pulled his hand back. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, sorry about that." She cleared her throat as she looked around nervously. "And uh, yeah, you're right. Adrien Agreste."

Wary of causing another choking fit, he cautiously continued. "Any... opinions on him?" Wow. Cha cha real smooth, Adrien.

It was silent. He stared at her. She refused to meet his eyes.

"He's... fine."

Oh. Well, that's not bad, right? That's definitely better than being called something like, a dirty pokémon thief. _I can deal with fine._

Her face was turning red, though, and she was starting to look uncomfortable. _Is she getting sick again?_ He decided that that was enough secret info gathering for today.

After a second, Marinette spoke up. "So, are you going to battle the gym here?"

"Yeah! But it's getting late, so I'll do it tomorrow." Gyms close for the night, right? He wasn't sure, and he didn't want to ask Marinette lest she laughed at him again. Well… listening to her laugh wasn't the worse thing in the world, but it was the principle of the matter.

"That's a good idea." She stretched a bit, slightly sore from sitting in one spot so long. "Gives your pokémon some time to rest too. I'm heading out to the next town tomorrow morning. I've read some great things about Lumiose city."

They fell into a comfortable silence, the trickling of the fountain behind them being the backdrop to their peace. Soon, the stars and moon chased the sun down the horizon to take its place in the sky.

Chat stood up first and offered Marinette his hand. "Shall we head back to the Pokémon Center?"

She gazed warily at his proffered hand before looking up to glare questioningly at him. He only grinned at her in response. She rolled her eyes and took his hand, allowing him to help her up. Once standing, she let go to dust bread crumbs off her white shirt and pink shorts. "Let's go back, get food, and then get some much needed shut eye."

"After you, Princess."

The two made their way to the center under the soft glow of the moonlight. Chat was going to miss her.

"Audino what I'm going to do without you tomeowrow, Princess."

A frustrated groan reverberated into the night.

* * *

Final A/N: And that is the conclusion to Marinette and Chat's stint together in Santalune City! There might be more, but if there is, I very likely won't be adding it onto this story.

Thank you to everyone who read, followed, favorited and reviewed the story!


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